Death Wish
by sunnysideup09
Summary: Naruto dies after a battle, and Sakura is plunged into the sea of guilt and regrets. But before he dies, Naruto makes a strange request to her, which she obligates. While befriending a baby fox, Sakura is suddenly faced with new dilemma...
1. Starting Over?

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto, ever.

Naruto dies after an epic battle, and Sakura is plunged into the sea of guilt and regrets. But before he dies, Naruto makes a strange request to her, which she obligates. While befriending a baby fox that she found on the street, Sakura is suddenly faced with a dilemma of no hope...

* * *

Before his blood dried up….

Before his eyes closed for the final time, he made one secret request to her.

"Sakura-chan, come closer, won't you….?"

The grey clouds clashed and mounted together. They gnawed and gashed their teeth, pulling and tangling the wisps of their remaining whiteness. Finally, the first thunder erupted, roaring its pride out to the sky. Or perhaps, it was also feeling pain in its mere, short lived momentum called life. One by one, the gentle droplets of rain soon became sharp, piercing the surface of the weak soil and splattering dirt and water away carelessly.

It was everywhere, the rain. The trees swayed, carried away by the violent rhythm of the wind, its leaves rustling. The wind was much more vocal, howling and screaming with its angry, sharp bite.

_Rage_…

He was making that stupid, impish grin of comfort, but she only shot back to him in rage. Why was she so angry? Shouldn't she smile in front of the dying boy with a wish soon to be buried…? Time was never on anyone's side, and she cursed it. She was starting to panic, however, at the realization of the escaping seconds in his hands. Slowly, she placed her weak and almost broken hands on his punctured chest. It soon began to emit the warm, eerie green glow.

"Don't worry, Naruto…," she said to him quietly with a stern look, trying to grasp onto her remaining glimmer of hope. _I'll save you…. I can_…!

But she knew she couldn't, and so did he. He was breathing heavily, struggling between the boundaries of life and death.

"Sakura-chan…,"

"Shh, don't try to talk."

Rain, and then more….

"Sakura-chan… when I die, put my body into the Mt. Myobokuzan's oil fountain."

"…what?!"

"In three hours… okay? Tell Fukasaku…. Please….." he gasped, trying to grasp his last breath of air.

"There was…. Something else….," he tried to continue, but he started to cough again. Blood trickled down from his mouth and lips. More air, more time…. Why couldn't there be more of anything?

Slowly, very slowly, his dimming pool blue eyes began to close. A calm smile- he painted the fulfilled, satisfied smile of death and held her hand for the very last time. She could feel his hands growing cold and stiff.

"Naruto…?" she called his name.

No answer.

Tears flowed from her eyes to the edge of her bones of her face, creating streams and finally, a river.

Though, the rain was washing the river away….

* * *

When they found her, they were only a few seconds too late. She was bent down over to his chest, her face buried in her arms. They couldn't clearly depict how she looked, but saw only droplets of her tears falling down. The timid sun that played peek-a-boo made its way out of the clouds, parting the aura of heavy darkness. Pillar of lights came down on earth, slowly drying up the ground drenched in mixed blood.

Streams of tears flowed nonstop on Rock Lee's face, and Neji, who was beside him only turned away from the sight. The toads- Fukasaku, Gamabunta, and Gamakichi, were stunned. Kakashi and Yamato averted their eyes, trying to avoid the pain, and Ino held a sobbing Hinata tightly.

Reeling with guilt, she stayed quiet all the way home. However, she did quietly tell Fukasaku his last request. Without much talk, Fukasaku nodded and hauled the corpse away to Mt. Myobokuzan with the other toads in a flash and a smoke of clouds.

_Was it my fault… it was? I could have saved him…_

Guilt and then more guilt- there was plenty of that. She lost Naruto, and now only guilt was wooing her. Wrapped in rage and weariness, she slumped over to the ground while on her walk back home.

"Sakura….!"

That was the last thing she heard.

* * *

Avoiding all the missions, Haruno Sakura stayed home in her bed. She cried nonstop in silence, with her bedroom door locked so that no one could come in. She also had her curtains pulled over so that no one could see her. She stayed in her bed, only feeling the soft cotton sheets soaked in her tears.

Downstairs, her mother was talking to Ino.

"No, she can't- I mean, she won't," Sakura's mother said, her face in tinge between something bitter and sour.

"Oh, okay," Ino replied. "A month is going to pass by soon." A pause and a sigh. "I'll come by next time."

"Come back soon," and the sliding door was closed.

Sakura tried to hide under the blankets. She wanted to hide her face from the walls of her room. Her eyes were wide open, her fingers between her lips, tears still spilling.

There was a knock at her door.

"Sakura," her mother said. "Open up, please."

No answer. A sigh.

"If you are going to continue this…. I might have to break the door apart. Would you like that?"

Still, there was nothing.

"Sakura, please come out and say something… please?"

Her mother was going to turn back and go down the stairs. Before she took another step away from the door, there was a click, and the door squeaked open. She only let the door open a little, just so that her mother could see a small glimpse of her face. Her mother sighed scornfully. Staring at her pathetic, feeble looking daughter with swollen red eyes and tangled, unruly hair made her feel nothing but pain and misery.

"Sakura, dear, please open the door a little wider," she said. Sakura slowly stepped away from the door and her mother pushed it. Sakura sat on her bed with her head slumped so low, not caring about her mother's reactions.

"Sakura, your room… your bed… it's….!"

"Messy, I know," Sakura spoke. It was the first time since that incident. Her clean, energetic daughter was now in shambles. Finally, her mother broke out from her frustrated and worried exterior and sat next to her daughter.

"It's going to be alright, dear," her mother said as she gently rubbed her back in circular motion and held her close. "He's still with you, my girl."

Sakura slid away from her mother's warm embrace, morphing herself into a curled ball of contempt.

"Leave me alone now, please," she whispered. Her mother rose up, weary of everything. Her only daughter in pain gave her greater pain.

Before she went, she gave her daughter a few last words of thought.

"Believe it, dear. He's there," she said, and left.

The room was quiet again.

'Believe? Believe what, that he's still alive? Even he said that I should believe in him, and now this….'

She bit the corners of the sheet and pulled it. No tears were coming out anymore. But the sky… when she stared out the window, the grey sky, now dark was dropping tears.

In every smile, there was a thorn. Every inch of her lips trying to curve up, every time she tried to close her eyes to make two perfect rainbows, only the thought of his idiotic grin lingered and whispered in her ears. She reminisced the times when they were silly preteens: a boy with a dream too far and high to reach, and a girl who lived only by the name of kunoichi on the surface. She often called him an idiot. Now, renewing her thoughts and cleansing it over and over again, she thought that she was an idiot. Idiot… idiot? What made that idiot so special anyhow and not her? She was and idiot, but a different kind. He saved her, and it was too late for her to do anything else.

All she could whisper was the words of apology. But 'sorry' wasn't good enough. It was never good enough.

To cleanse her sins, she lifted herself from the bed and placed herself in front of the mirror for an evaluation. Her eyes were still puffy, and her hair was a thick pile of tangled grease. Hadn't he always admired how pretty she was? A small smile strangely rose on her face.

_All I could do is useless and small things… _

The grey sky still irritated her, but nevertheless, she still kept her small, awkward smile.

"That's right. What will he think of me if he sees me this way? He'll probably say something like, "Sakura, stop talking nonsense and get out!""

Yeah, if only he _was_ there….

It was over. She decided to get out from her room. There was no use in crying or sulking. Another day was a day to start over. She hobbled over to her closet and slid the door open.

'That's it…?' With her puffy eyes wide open, she stared at the almost hollow, naked closet. There was nothing but only few sock pieces, undergarments, and a little black dress with long sleeves. She realized that all of her clothes were carelessly tossed in the laundry basket, waiting patiently for another review of thorough cleansing. She only wore warm, neutral colors- black was never an option. Today, however, it seemed like it was an obligation.

"How ironic," she muttered and gathered those clothes in her arms. She was ready to take a shower.

She must rinse it all away….

* * *

After a few days of staying silent and trying to recuperate, Sakura asked for chores. Her mother was bewildered.

"You, of all the people," her mother chuckled sadly. She began to write a list of goods on a small, pale pink tinted sheet and handed it to her. Without a word, she strolled out into the street, taking a red umbrella with her.

The sky was still the disturbing grey, never changing its mind of claiming another territory. Still, there was no rain. Was that a good sign, she wondered. No rain, no nothing….

At the market, she gathered apples, pears, and oranges. She checked off every item until she came to the very last one. On the very bottom of the list, it said, 'sweets.'

She gently smiled and bought three small cinnamon rolls.

Out of the store, and out of the blue, the disturbing sky that resided without any permission in the village clashed with other wisps of visible grey. Out came the rain of rage. She clenched on the handle of the red umbrella and perched it over to her head.

A sigh. "More rain…., isn't this already enough?" She stared at the sky.

Her home was a long way. The tiny road that she took was a twisted cobblestone path. On the sides, small frogs and other tiny creatures of the earth tried to escape the pouring rain by either jumping into a small pool of puddle or burrowing themselves in little nooks and holes. Flowers enjoyed rain as much as possible. She despised the flowers.

While walking around the largest curve that had a majestic oak tree swaying from the wind, she spotted something bright and round under the roots of the tree.

"It looks like a piece of gold," she said. She lifted it up. "Huh, it doesn't feel that heavy." It was rather soft and warm. Suddenly, the round object unfurled itself, showing its tiny tail with a white tip. Two points sprang up, and its face drew a pair of squints.

A baby fox.

"Aww, it's so cute!!!" Sakura squealed. She held it close to her chest. It had a nice sleek fur in color of bright gold. The baby fox began to blink, and she saw a glimpse of blue.

The fox again drew a pair of squints and yapped.

"You are really different from other foxes," she scratched its forehead with the tip of her index finger. "You remind me of someone special…" She smiled gently. The baby fox lifted its head and began to lick its white paw soaked in blood.

"You're hurt!" Patting it gently, she decided to take it home. "I'll take good care of you until you get better, okay?"

The baby fox began to emit a purr, and cuddled in her arms. She smiled.

"I like you…," she held the fox tightly in her arms. "You'll be Toru now, okay?"

The fox yapped twice. It was weak, but still cheerful.

The heavy rain didn't seem to be so burdensome anymore. Her footsteps were lighter than before. She was walking in power, kicking puddles in her path away in joy.

She was a little happier than before.

Though she didn't notice how the fox grinned too....

* * *

Hi, it's me again, writing another story. Oh, some people might wonder why the fox's name is Toru. Well, you might know if you're really good. ^^ I based this story on an old legend that most of you will never know. It didn't have a happy ending. Do you think this one will have one? No? Yes? Maybe? Heh, we'll see, but I'm kind of evil.


	2. Try

**Note:** I haven't written so long since I'm always away now. I sure would like to finish this story soon. I hope you're all spending good holiday.

I don't own Naruto. Ever.

* * *

**Chapter II**

** Try**

For the most of the time, she was happy. Those days which seemed to never pass and tore her heart slowly quickly gave itself into the new light. Often times when she trotted through the flat dirt path, she tried to help those around the market places full of crates that needed to be unpacked or carried out. In return, those who were grateful gave her a sample of their goods, and some offered discount on their new products. For most of the days, Haruno Sakura lived as a normal, happy teenage girl.

Not to mention, with a new companion by her side, her shoulders which used to carry heavy loads of burden and guilt were lifted away. Toru was usually near her, sometimes being her aid whenever she needed an extra help carrying grocery bags or finding small objects like needles or brooches that rolled down the narrow bottom of the shelves. Sometimes, Toru played games with her by hiding himself in the bushes. Whenever she came to look for him, he jumped out quickly, giving her a near fatal heart attack. Sometimes, he earned himself a quick thwack on the head for worrying her, but other times, she smiled joyfully and held his tiny body high up to the sky while spinning around in circles. Those regular rules never seemed to change much, depending on Sakura's mood and how the day went by.

But one day, the rules changed a little.

"Toru," Sakura called out. "Toru, where are you?" She took a quick walk around her house and searched around the bushes to look for the little mischievous fox. It was a rather strangely hot day in March, and Sakura felt like she could melt into her clothes. Toru went missing for at least three hours, which worried her since he never pushed the time limit further than at least ten minutes.

"Toru… Toru!" Sakura yelled. She began to panic a little. Little beads of sweat mixed from worries and the hot weather began to trickle down at the sides of her throat. She decided to step a little away from her house and went near other bushes in the village. She called out his simple name, but there was no trace of gold shimmering under the sun, nor any glimpse of two small water beads peaking out from the shadows of the trees.

She was now over the tea green pastures full of cherry blossom trees, and small rose bushes planted a little further to the evergreen trees. This was the last place to look. She called out his name again, and there was nothing but the whisper of the cool, sudden wind and withering cherry blossom petals slashing itself against her tea pink hair. And then, from a far place, like the song of agony echoing against the will of current, came a small, helpless yap. Quickly, she ran toward the sound, repressing and recalling the pain of losing another soul.

The yap grew louder and louder. She followed the distorted cry instinctively until she arrived near the rose bushes. The scent of those crimson roses tickled her nose, and the loud yaps to her ears. She began to look for him through the crowns of thorns, her eyes wandering for the sight of gold and two water beads desperately. Then, she found him, caught in the cage of thorns. He must've struggled a little, since she saw little bit of blood seeping out through his tiny legs. With her shaking, bloody hands, she dug into her pocket and produced the kunai knife, cutting away all the vines that constricted around him._ Was he okay_, she wondered. _Was he?_

Then finally from the final cut of the vines and realizing that he was finally free, he jumped back into her arms.

"Toru…," she whispered, but then, her voice steadily grew into a sea of rage.

"How dare you run away like that? Look at you- you're hurt! Don't you know how I felt when you were gone for the longest time? You idiot! Idiot….."

She soon dropped her voice, and Toru, who was slightly frightened from the sudden yells, finally held his head up from wondering why she was quiet.

One, and then two drops… no, three drops of tears fell on the crown of his head. Her lips were tight, but she was still speaking to him with no words. Her eyes had said it all.

The brutally fresh-cut white roses were stained with her fresh, dark red blood. It would soon dry up and become brownish. But she felt no remorse, no pain from her torn, bruised hands. She only remembered about how she felt fear seeping through her heart, and now, she felt stupid, petty, but strangely happy from today's adventure. At least, in the long run, Toru was safe.

And strange enough, the little fox began to cry and lick her wounds. Her tight lips bloomed into another slow, but beautiful smile. She sighed.

"Don't ever go off like that again, okay? Who knows what might've happened to you," she said as she gave him a small thwack on his head. The fox mewed from the attack but slowly drifted away into a deep sleep.

"Geez, sleeping in my arms like that!" Sakura couldn't believe in the audacity of her little companion, but nevertheless, it was a long day. She smiled and took the baby fox home, where the sun set.

That was the day when Sakura turned eighteen.

* * *

For as long as she could remember, Sakura always had a mother and a father, a well-kept house, friends, a normal life of a girl growing up in a village. Then, she lost a friend, and then another. Now, she was about to lose more to life which gave her no honest answers and fairness.

A few months after her birthday, Sakura returned home from another simple C-rank mission. She hummed while keeping her pace near the gates of her house, thinking of how Toru would run to her cheerfully as soon as the front door slid open and her mother welcoming and scolding her for not doing the errands that she requested earlier on in the morning. She pushed the front door open to the side, saying, "I'm home."

But there was no Toru, nor any smiles or the smell of good food coming from the kitchen. She at least expected a few scolding, but there was nothing. There was no mother, no light in the house, no Toru. Instead, the curtains were half draped over the windows carelessly, with the laundry basket full of clothes tossed on the cool tatami floor. In the living room right next to the front door, her mother sat sunk on the floor with a small paper clutched between her fingers.

"Mom," she carefully said, as if the word itself would provoke any harm. Slowly she crept toward her mother, wondering why the atmosphere of her house was suddenly so bitter and cold.

"Sakura," the mother called out her daughter's name, as the meaning itself had no meaning. Her movement was almost lifeless, her arms swayed as if it was attached to a string. She held her daughters hands loosely, but without making any eye contact. "Oh Sakura, what are we going to do?"

"What are you talking about, mom?" Sakura raised a brow in confusion. Her mother tugged on the crumpled piece of paper between her fingers and pushed it into her daughter's palm. Carefully, Sakura smoothed out the paper and began to read the short sentences under the darkness that soon overcame.

"Dear Haruno-san,

I regret to inform you that your husband is dead. While travelling back home as a disguised merchant, he fought bravely against the enemies from the Sound village, and died with honor at the Road of _Hi_.

Regards,

……."

Slowly, Sakura's open palms turned pale, and then, just as her mother did before, Sakura's palms closed into a tight fist. But unlike her mother, Sakura stood still, tall and apart from the tatami mat floor. Slowly her finger tips inched itself closer toward the edge of the crumpled paper, and reluctantly one by one, she shredded it until there was barely any recognizable words on the tiny fluttering pieces of papers scattering around her legs like the white cherry blossom petals freely flying high against the gentle breeze outside of her home.

* * *

A small funeral was held, along with a short eulogy. Then there came a time for burial, and Sakura and her mother, along with Toru held in her arms, watched as the large black coffin was lowered down to the ground with flowers carelessly tossed without cruel intentions. Sakura coldly watched the coffin sink to the earth, never to be returned back to the surface of life. When the men came with their shovels to shove dirt down the rectangular hole, Sakura quickly left as soon as possible with Toru, only leaving her weeping mother behind.

As she walked around the vacant village, she stood around in particular places. Some places she remained for hours, while for other places, she quickly passed by. It didn't matter if they were good or bad memories; they just needed to be light and jovial. She kept her silence, until she arrived at a particular place – the Ninja Academy.

She sat on a lonely swing hung on a tall lonesome oak tree and let Toru sit on her lap. She swung a little – only little-, but stopped soon with her feet. Finally, her lips began to move.

"You know, dad was the one who took me here," she said. "It was my first day to school. I didn't like it at first, but daddy said that it would be good for me later on in life. I think I cried because they made fun of my forehead," she laughed slightly, and then took a pause to recollect her thoughts.

"Dad sometimes took me around town and held my hand. He bought me sweets – lots of them. Mom scolded at him for spoiling me too often, but he just laughed and shrugged it off. Dad just laughed, and I laughed with him. I just followed my dad around a lot for most of those days.

Then I just found my own niche here at the Academy, and little by little, my dad and I just grew further apart. Mom was right – he did spoil me too much. I wish he hadn't, but now, I wish he was here to spoil me more, just before he went…."

She didn't cry, but remained still as she swung a little again on the swing.

"Everyone hated Naruto," she said, which surprised her instantly since she didn't speak his name for months. But she continued. "My parents did too, though they didn't say too much about him. But I could see it through anyways. I hated Naruto too, but just because he was getting in my way. Or so I thought…, and now…."

Tears, one by one, began to flow from her eyes. She quickly wiped them away with her hands, trying to bring out a smile. A fake smile.

"Ah, I'm such an idiot. I'm trying so hard not to cry. But how come is it that every time I try harder to not cry, I just end up crying…?"

And then, just as soon as she said her last words, Sakura began to sob, wanting to release the guilt and rage that she stored up inside her heart for too long. And all the little fox could do was to watch her pitifully and bend his head down in sorrow.

* * *

The days grew harsh as the angry, autumn wind, clashing and cutting against anything that stood in its path full of hatred. Sakura felt her body sway against its current, often being pushed, pulled, and tugged around anywhere as she walked. Her tea pink hair, once short, grew longer and a little wavier up to her elbows.

After her father's death, Sakura and her mother faced financial troubles. Her father, whose philosophy was to enjoy life to its fullest, spent much portions of their money to sake, theatres, books, and other useless objects to which her mother sorely disapproved and nagged much often about. Of course, her father's use of money didn't fully push them into debt. Luckily, Sakura's mother didn't need to pay for the funeral since ninjas who died during battles were buried with honor by the village which gave no burdens to their weeping families. But still, the one thing which was fully responsible for the Haruno family's monetary issues was the large sum of money they owed to the Aihara clan, a group of wealthy, powerful ninjas who wore the finest silk kimonos on their backs and ate the most expensive food. That, however, was all thanks to their illegal drug dealing and blackmailing other ninjas. Sakura's family happened to be one of the unfortunate ones who fell into the category of the Aihara clan's infamous, endless blackmailing.

It all started out innocently. Sakura's grandfather, who was a travelling merchant, one day, became lost and injured in the woods of the Sound village. There he found hospital group of people who treated him kindly and gave him nourishment and warm place to sleep in. That all soon turned out to be a huge trickery in the end because he ended up being blackmailed and threatened till the end of his life at the age of fifty-four. The Aiharas were quite the geniuses when it came to breaking laws, and the Haruno family's debt increased as time went by.

For Sakura, she had to work four times as hard as ever as a medic-nin on missions. She took any available jobs there was to offer, just to keep a roof over her mother and Toru's heads. Food was sometimes scarce, and Sakura did not mention her family situation to anyone but Toru alone. Many wondered why she was working so much and spending little time with them, but Sakura chose to ignore her friends, her happiness, and eventually, most of the things she knew.

"Sakura, won't you tell me why you're doing this?" Tsunade often asked when she barged into the Hokage's office and begged for more jobs. It didn't matter if it was D-rank or S-rank; she just needed to do them for money. Often times, Tsunade gave her easy, odd jobs, but never S-ranks. Sakura didn't seem to mind too much as long as there was something to do.

"I'm worried, Tsunade-sama," Shizune once commented while watching Sakura walk out of the office. "Does Sakura have some kind of illness? Do you think something is troubling her?"

Tsunade just gathered her hands and sighed. 'I hope it's not about Naruto again, or..,' she thought.

After another long day of work, Sakura returned home. She wanted to take a quick shower- as baths can't be afforded anymore- and then take a quick nap. She opened the sliding door, feeling slightly strange from the mood of the house. It was too quiet.

"Mom? Mom," Sakura called out for her mother until she came to the kitchen. She saw her mother with a serious expression her face, her hands clutched together. Her hair was a little neater than before, and she wore a fresh, clean, pale yellow apron today. She was sitting at the opposite side of the dinner table. Her mother seemed to have not notice her presence, as she just sat still with aloof seriousness.

"Mom? Mooom," Sakura said as she waved her hand in front of her mother's face. It was then her mother snapped back to reality.

"Oh, Sakura dear, welcome back," her mother said with a kind smile that she had not seen in a while. "Would you like some tea?"

"Tea? We have tea?" Sakura said, raising one brow.

"It's not much, but tea is still tea," her mother said with an effort to put on a sing-song voice. She boiled water on the stove and dropped herbs into the kettle. "Sit down and wait for it."

Feeling her mother's false cheerful attitude clash with the once bright wall, now stained in grey from the cloudy weather, Sakura awkwardly made her way to the table. Her mother finally brought tea and poured some in her tea cup. Her hands were trembling violently, and she almost upset her tea while taking a sip.

"Mom, I know something's up. Even an idiot could notice how awkward this feels right now," Sakura said. Her mother sighed in grief. The kitchen clock ticked by every second and the wind outside howled and shrieked as if it was chasing the torn past alone.

"Sakura, I'm no good as your mother. I have no rights to call myself your mother," she finally whispered silently.

"What do you mean, mom? You've always been there for me," Sakura said with suspicion and a bit of light chuckle.

"Sakura," her mother said once more, only this time with heaviness. "I've arranged a marriage for you."

At that moment, Sakura almost spat out her tea.

"Ma-ma-marriage?!!!" she yelled.


	3. Matsushita Junpei

**Note:** In my dream, Sakura and Naruto came to tell me that I do not own Naruto, ever.

* * *

**Chapter III**

**Matsushita Junpei**

_"In each action we must look beyond the action at our past, present, and future state, and at others whom it affects, and see the relations of all those things. And then we shall be very cautious."_

_~Blaise Pascal_

* * *

She stared at her mother for the longest time while the clocked ticked, inching towards another minute, perhaps another hour. Sakura stared at her mother as if she was mad; wondering to the point where she thought her mother's dreams of living a normal life of a typical housewife was reduced to rubbles starting from her father's death.

But the kitchen clock was ticking, and all she could do was concentrate on that sound. It irritated her, just as the current confusing situation did.

"What the heck are you talking about? Are you insane? Stop joking around, mom. This isn't funny," Sakura finally said as she slammed her tea cup down. Her mother tried not to look into her daughter's green eyes growing aflame.

"Forgive me, Sakura," her mom said with her lips and hands trembling slightly. "But it had to be done…."

"But… why mom, why?"

The storm clouds were gathering outside, and the kitchen was soon painted dark grey. Her mother slightly raised her eyes while keeping her head still bent, facing the rough, chipped wooden surface of the table. Her hands reached into the front pocket of her apron and pulled out a thin sheet of paper. She slid it toward her daughter, and Sakura instantly snatched it away and began to read. It was a proposal, with red stamp and a signature pressed on the bottom of the page.

"Matsushita Junpei…?" Sakura said quietly.

"He's a kind young man who happens to be the grandson of your grandfather's friend. He lives on the outskirts of this country around the Northeast area. His family owns a logging industry, and they are extremely wealthy."

"Okay, you know what? That doesn't matter. What matters is this – why am I getting married, seriously?!" Sakura felt her voice rise despite trying to take control of her overwhelming feelings.

"Sakura, dear," her mother said as she reached over to softly hold her daughters hands. "You know that we're in great debt, and we owe much to the Aihara clan. Sending you to marry a good, secure family will have great impacts for your future."

"Mom, I can work. I don't have to marry; I can earn tons of money from the missions…."

"Sakura," her mother interrupted. "That won't do. You know that."

"But why am I getting married at a time like this? It's just so unexpected and it doesn't make sense…," then it finally hit her. "Unless you're selling me off!"

"Sakura, it's not like that…."

"Then what's it like? Mom, how could you?! I'm not some object that you can pass around! How could you?!" Sakura shouted while trying to hold back the tears.

"Sakura, we're in great debt. If you marry Matsushita-san, your future will be secured. They will provide you with everything you could ever need," her mother replied in a rather flat, matter-of-fact tone.

"But… you're selling me off without giving me any notice," Sakura said. She clenched her fists underneath the table, trying hard to fight back the tears. Her mother's hands were wrapped around the tea cup, which was now cold as the weather outside.

"Please understand, and you're not being sold," her mother said, ending the conversation. Immediately Sakura got off her chair and walked to the front door. She jammed her feet into her sandals and slammed the door shut, leaving her mother to sigh.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," her mother said quietly. Her fatigued back slumped over after the tense conversation. Somewhere in the darkness of the kitchen, drops of tears fell from her tired, leaf green eyes, the tears which she held all inside to harden her face. She tried to keep it together, and through it all, that was a worthless effort. Her daughter would hate her forever, and this woman who thought she lost everything important in life, finally lost her own treasure that she never forcefully wanted to let go. She let out a muffled sob with her head bent down low in defeat while still holding onto her cold, corpse-like tea cup tightly in her hands.

In the opposite side of where her daughter had sat before, a lonely tea cup stood on its saucer. It tried to stand tall with all its pride while hiding its crack –possibly due to the impact it had while being slammed down on the table- away from the mother.

On the stairs, two bright blue eyes stared at the front door.

* * *

Eighteen and already engaged to someone who she never met nor loved, Sakura stood against the cold rain trying to push her back toward the direction of her house. But she refused with all her stubbornness while shivering like a helpless five-year-old child. Her cherry lips had a tinge of blue, and her long, wavy hair was stuck onto her clothes from being wet.

Somewhere in the midst of the chaos, she heard a small yap coming closer toward her. She heard those tiny legs making tiny splashes on the road full of puddles.

"Toru?" she called out. Another small yap. The little baby fox made its way toward the girl.

"Toru," Sakura said as the fox jumped into her arms. "What do you have there?" She pulled out the small folded sheet which the fox held in his mouth and spread it wide open in the wind. It was her pink blanket.

"You brought it out here for me?" she said, with her eyes open in disbelief. Toru yapped happily. She wrapped the blanket around her and hugged Toru in her arms.

'You're the only one who understands me,' she thought, and started to walk to no where, no destination. Only the rain guided her way to a path she never knew before.

* * *

On rainy days, the Yamanaka family left their flowers in the rain outside their shop for a few hours. The sweet scent of flowers drenched in cold rain tingled Ino's nose. There was no one coming by today, and no passengers walking by her family's open shop. She was the only one tending the store.

"Ooh how boring," Ino moped. She had already finished cultivating the flowers by carefully trimming the dead leaves and changing the room's temperature. She had cleaned the dust off the shelves and swept the floor that had dry mud tracks and dusty foot prints hours ago. Still, there was nothing entertaining. She looked under the counter which held the cash register and tried to look for anything interesting or unsightly, but all she found were the old romance novels and teen magazines that she had read before. Boring indeed.

"Awww, such a depressing day! Geez, why does it rain all the time around here?" Ino complained as she rested her chin on her right hand. She took a glance at a small coin and began to flip it around until at one chance, it slipped out of her hand and rolled into the flat bottom of the counter.

She started to mutter a few complaints to herself while trying to reach for the silver coin. Her fingertips slowly reached an inch toward the coin until she felt something slightly flapping against her skin at the side of her arm.

"Hello, what's this?" Ino said as she pulled the flapping object out under the counter. It was a slightly thick, navy blue, soft cover book. She blew the dust off that had collected on the cover for years and then coughed slightly.

"And the title is, _The Tale of Yamamoto_," she told herself. "Huh, I've never heard of this book before. Well, if it's interesting, why not go for it?" She went straight ahead to chapter one and began to read.

It was a marvelous tale about a man named Yamamoto, who used to be an artisan in a simple, small village on an island in the east. While travelling on a ship to sell his goods to another country, a band of ruthless pirates began to raid the ship and kill anyone mercilessly in sight. Just before his death, Yamamoto sold the ownership of his soul to Hone-onna- a skeletal woman spirit disguised as a beautiful woman to suck life forces out while alluring their victims- who fell in love with him. Due to this, Yamamoto became 'immortal,' but wandered around on earth for years and trying to find another way to end his life.

'I wonder if this Yamamoto is super hot,' Ino thought as she kept on reading the misfortunes and the adventures of the protagonist. While getting to the juicy part of fights and developing romance, she heard a great _thunk_ outside in front of the store. She raised her eyes abruptly, feeling irritated that she was pulled out of the fantasy. But sooner or later, Ino gasped as she saw Sakura sprawled across the muddy ground with Toru barking madly.

"Sakura, what are you doing here? And what the heck were you doing outside?" Ino said as she quickly dragged her half conscious friend to the store and toward the back room. Toru followed them in quickly.

* * *

"Geez, you gave me such a heart attack, forehead-chan," Ino said while reading the book on a rocking chair. Sakura slowly blinked a couple of times, and then sprang up from the couch she laid sleeping in.

"And Toru? Where's Toru?" Sakura said in panic, only to see that her baby fox slept near where her feet are.

"He's fine. Gosh, he's so annoying. He wouldn't stop barking and crying until you went to sleep in peace," Ino said with a fine bit of temper and annoyance. Sakura gazed at the fox. He had a diminutive stature, and was moving a little in his sleep, perhaps from having a sweet dream. Was Toru ever annoying in her eyes? Even though he might be perceived as nothing to others, he still was important to Sakura. It was as if Toru knew Sakura instinctively.

"You know," Ino said as she got off her rocking chair to bend down and stare at the sleeping animal. "He's an oddball, for sure."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, for starters, normal foxes don't have golden fur and blue eyes."

Sakura cocked her head to the side and pulled her blanket a little over to her chest. Despite the room being warm, her body still felt cold from the rain.

"I know," Sakura said as she reached her hand over to gently pet Toru's head with her fingertips. "But he's still important to me."

Ino took a glance at her friend smiling. It was as if the dark mood from the weather had been lifted instantly from Sakura's temporal, but obvious affection.

"Well Sakura, I can't disagree with you. After all, he's super cute," Ino said as she scratched Toru near his ears. Toru drew a pair of squints and he started to relax a little. "Aww, he likes it."

"Sure, Ino-pig, sure," Sakura said dismissively. She coughed only once after the sentence.

* * *

She returned home after having a hot cup of tea with Ino. It was nice to have a conversation with someone, but she still held on to what pained her inside. She couldn't confess that she would marry to some stranger because of the large sum of debt that had accumulated in her household. She didn't let her guard down for a single moment to relax. Sakura kept everything uptight and controlled as possible. After all, she didn't want the word to spread across the village, though it wasn't like Ino to gossip about troubles from her friends. With that, Sakura felt more cut off from the world she once knew and lived in.

Toru walked silently behind her, trying to make sure that no one would hurt Sakura.

"Man, this isn't right," Sakura sighed. "I mean, how can I get married to someone who I never met in my life?" She recalled the days when she read romance novels as a preteen. Sure, there was great highlight on passion and drama, and though she accepted the fact long ago that life was nothing like romance novels, she still wanted to hold on to the value of love.

"Right, Toru? Mom can't just pass me off like that," Sakura spurted. But remembering her mother and those dreamy days which felt so distant to her now, Sakura stopped walking altogether. A small pond, which was formed from the rain which seemed non-stop back then, had stopped her, and Sakura knelt down to see herself. All she could see was a plain girl and the grayish blue sky hovering over her. Feeling pathetic, she averted her eyes away from the reflection and gathered her knees together to her chest. It didn't matter to her if her clothes were going to get muddy from sitting down here on.

'But I'm just a girl,' Sakura thought. 'I can't do anything right. I can't make anything right at this point. All I can do to save our family is through this marriage.'

Sakura began to cough again. It was a slight cough at first, but eventually, it became serious. She felt her chest burn, and her throat being constricted tightly. Toru saw this, and swiftly ran toward her. He began to cry.

"Don't worry; we're almost home anyways," Sakura said, but started to cough much violently.

A few feet away from her, a tall man walked calmly, carrying a briefcase in one hand, and a folded umbrella in another. He whistled a jaunty tune, but stopped as he heard some strange yap coming in front of him. A strange fox with pool blue eyes was scratching on his dark khaki.

"Hm, what's this?" he said quietly, but then saw a girl in the middle of the streets, having troubles breathing.

"Are you okay, Miss?" he ran toward her quickly bent down to open his briefcase. Sakura saw a glimpse of transparent glass bottles full of medical herbs and potions, but coughed again, struggling to maintain breathing.

"Here, drink this," the man said as he offered a small glass bottle containing violent liquid inside. Sakura slightly glared at the man, becoming suspicious of his actions.

"Ah, don't worry; it's not poison. It's a special tonic that I made. Please, drink up," he said with a kind smile. Having no choice, Sakura took the bottle and gratefully drank it all down. Soon, the cough, chest and throat pain all disappeared.

"It… it worked," Sakura said to herself, caught in surprise and awe as she stared at the empty bottle. "Thank you."

"No problem," he said as he closed the briefcase. "But you better take good care of yourself, Miss. Otherwise, how will you live your life to the fullest?"

His smile was full of kindness, with a touch of warm humor and empathy.

"Take good care now," he said and tipped his fedora, leaving Sakura to wonder about him more.

* * *

That night, Sakura took a quick shower and flopped herself onto her bed, wondering who that man could've been. She expected her mother to scold her, but she didn't. Instead, her mother busied herself in the kitchen, pretending to fiddle around with the utilities and the vegetables when Sakura came in from the front door. She hugged the pillow close to her chest and sighed.

"Ne, Toru, who do you think that guy could've been?" she asked the small animal who snoozed right next to her. She scratched his head and then fell back into her pondering.

She remembered what he looked like. He was handsome, with large, slant dark eyes and short, shaggy dark hair. He looked slightly older than her, and wore a full set of suit.

She spent the night tossing and turning until it was dawn.

* * *

Unlike yesterday, it was a glorious morning. The sun was shining brilliantly in the ice blue sky, and each leaves had an emerald sheen on the top. Birds were freely flying, and Sakura felt anything but free. Today, she had to wear the simple baby blue dress with ruffles that her mother pulled out from her closet. Her mother fussed about, cleaning every square inch of the house, even the rooftops. Her mother was surprisingly acting like her old self instead being diminutive and quiet.

"Mom, what's all this about?" Sakura said as she watched her mother dust every corner in swift motion with a rag.

"Today, your fiancé is coming over," her mother said in a hurry, but stopped at one point from seeing her daughter's hair at the side view. "Oh Sakura, do something with that standing hair of yours! It's bothering me."

"What, my fiancé?" Sakura shouted. Her heart thumped a little from nervousness. "Why is he coming here?!"

"Just hurry up and fix yourself. He'll be here in no time," her mother shouted back, and Sakura ran up to her room to fix her hair again.

In a matter of few minutes, Sakura's mom heard the tiny front gate squeak as it swung open, and she saw the shadow of a tall figure standing near the paper covered front door. She threw the rag away in the laundry room, closed the door, and greeted the man who came into her house.

"Welcome, welcome," her mother said. "Sakura, dear, he's here."

Feeling nervous, Sakura sighed from upstairs and tried to balance her mind. She took slow steps down the stairs, slowly, and ever so slow….

Her head was bent down so she wouldn't see the man's face. She didn't want to see her fiancé, and hated the word by every single minute.

"Hello," the man said, and she recognized the cool, deep voice. She had heard it before. Slowly, she raised her head up and saw his face.

Dark eyes, dark shaggy hair.

"Ah, it's you!" exclaimed Sakura. Her mother shot back an odd, distasteful look at her.

"Sakura, where are your manners?" she said, but returned a smile and greetings to the man. "Please come in, Matsushita-san."

'Matsushita Junpei… he was Matsushita-san?' Sakura thought as she followed them into the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry. We don't have much here," her mother said as she poured a cup of tea and set it in front of the man.

"Thank you, Haruno-san," he said by returning the kind smile to her. Sakura sat at the opposite side of the man, overwhelmed and feeling a little timid from his presence. She still couldn't believe that the man she met from yesterday was her fiancé, Matsushita Junpei.

After her mother brought in the cookies and tea, the three sat facing each other. Sakura just tightened her lips and tried to drink her tea. His dignified looks and charm intimidated her slightly. And the question that she had wanted to ask for the longest time rang in her head. She had to say it.

"Excuse me, Matsushita-san, but why did you choose me to marry you? Certainly there are other girls who you would choose to marry?"

"Sakura!" her mother exclaimed as she kicked her daughter's foot underneath the table. She winced a little from the pain, and Junpei just smiled.

"Perhaps I would have," he said. "But this was a promise I kept to my late Grandfather."

There was a moment of quietness in the room as Junpei took a sip of tea.

"I grew up having no understanding of what my parents were like, or who they were. They died when I was an infant during the times of war, and so my Grandfather raised me.

I understand that my Grandfather was a friend of your Grandfather, Sakura-san. Although they were from different villages, they often helped each other out as businessmen and as travelling merchants. But just before the borders of the Sound village and the Leaf closed near the end of the war, they made a contract, saying that one of their grandchildren would marry each other to keep the bonds close. That would be you and I."

"Why are you so keen on keeping that promise?" Sakura asked, in which she earned another kick to the feet by her mother.

"My Grandfather was the only one who I grew up with knowing as a family. He was the only one who kept his promise to my parents to raise me. He was a man who did not ask for much in the world, nor from me. This was the only thing that he would've liked me to do, and I intend to keep his promise," answered the man.

Sakura became silent. She didn't know how to answer or what to say. Slowly, she spun the cup around the saucer. The idea that formed in her out of desperation while staring at her reflection yesterday pierced her heart once more.

"Then, if I marry you, then you must promise me that you will give my mother whatever she asks for and that you will pay for all of our debts."

"Sakura…!"

"I already am well-informed of your family situation, Sakura-san," Junpei said coolly, taking a glance at Sakura's mother. "I intend to do that."

'He must be really rich,' Sakura thought, and felt pathetic once more. Here was a man who was able to do anything, and here she was, being able to do nothing but to marry to secure her family's future. She felt betrayed by her mother, felt worthless and nearly powerless.

"I think this ends our conversation," Sakura said as she got off her seat and walked away from her mother and the man. Her mother jumped out of the seat and grabbed her wrist.

"Sakura, where do you think you're going?"

"Out, where I can get some air," Sakura said as she pulled her arms away from her mother's grasp. She walked out of the front door and slammed it shut. Her mother just stared at the door.

"Now then, excuse me too, Haruno-san," Matsushita Junpei said as he stood up from the table.

"Oh, I am so sorry for this rudeness," her mother quickly apologized.

"No, it's fine," Junpei said with a warm smile. "But if you please, may I speak to Sakura-san?"

"Yes," her mother said, a little surprised from the calm politeness of the man. "If you'd like, I'm fine with it."

Sakura was sitting on a bench placed outside the walls of her house. It was a warm day, with no ounce of clouds gathered in the sky. The tree leaves rustled as the wind passed by smoothly along the neighborhood road.

'This is it,' Sakura thought. 'There's nothing more to do but wait for that day of my marriage. And then, everything will be fine.'

She sighed, and took in a deep breath when she noticed the shadow of the familiar figure moving toward her.

"Matsushita-san," she said and stood up from the bench.

"Sakura-san," he said and sat next to her. Automatically, she sat next to him too.

"Matsushita-san, I didn't mean to walk out like that. I'm sorry," Sakura answered quietly.

"To tell you the truth, I, myself, am a little nervous for this too," he said while watching the leaves fly into another space. "I wasn't sure what to do, but I'm sure our Grandfathers would be pleased."

"Matsushita-san, if you're a businessman, then why did you carry a briefcase full of medicine?"

"I'm interested in making medicine rather than business," he said back. "And perhaps one day, I will sell my business and become a traveler, learning about new herbs and illnesses."

'What a wonderful dream,' Sakura thought, feeling a little down compared to her fiancé.

"Ah, and it's fine if you call me Junpei," he said.

Sakura stared blankly at the man for a minute, but began to chuckle slightly. Despite his politeness and these awkward conversations, he had a bit of cute side to him.

"How old are you, Matsushita-kun?" Sakura said, feeling a little uncomfortable to call him by his first name for now. In retrospect, he seemed a little older than she thought.

"Well, I'm twenty-eight," he answered back.

"Tw-tw-twenty-eight?!!"

"What, am I too old now?"

Upstairs in Sakura's room, the little fox gazed down at two people laughing and having a gentle conversation with each other. He cocked his head in curiosity, scratched his head a little, and jumped away from the windowsill which framed the happy image of blossoming friendship.

Or so it seemed.

That night, Sakura dreamt of herself being dressed in the most beautiful wedding gown that she had ever seen. But for some reason, she looked unhappy in the large mirror that stood in front of her. Her dream then cut away to another scene, like a movie, where she saw a small spiky blonde-hair, blue eyed boy around the age of eight warning her to be careful in any situation, be it joyous or serious, in the fog. But when Sakura woke up again in the morning, she left the dream away in the very far corner of her mind, and started her day again.


	4. Absolutely Nothing

**Note: **I had a nightmare, and it's called "I don't own Naruto, ever."

* * *

**Chapter IV**

**Absolutely Nothing**

_"Support the strong, give courage to the timid, remind the indifferent, and warn the opposed."_

_~Whitney M. Young_

* * *

_  
_

She was in the barren field again, where the dragons of clouds emerged and collided with elegance.

It was a vacant place, and she was confused. There was no one there, and only the clashing clouds were there, telling none of their secret stories of their duel.

"Hello?" Sakura called out, but only the echo answered back.

Soon, the clouds rolled away in the air, dancing and slithering away. In front of her, she saw a trail of red string. With immense curiosity, she followed the narrow, curved path which the red string had carved out for her. Sooner or later, the red string became loose and smeared onto her black leather gloves.

Blood…. It was blood.

Sakura gasped in shock, but held her grip. She tried to crawl toward the blood carefully, as if it was done in secret. She didn't know the particular reason why, but it felt like an obligation.

And then, near her, she saw a glimpse of orange shining through the mist swaying in front of her like light, lacy curtain. He was there, drenched in blood.

"Naruto," she cried. "Naruto!"

She held him tightly around her arms. And for reason, why, she asked herself, why was Naruto bleeding? What had happened to him? She stared at the empty field holding the vast unseen, unpredictable future. It felt so hopeless, so futile. And even if there were things growing on the land, they were dried up weeds crawling its way out of the cracks of the hardened soil.

"He-hello," she said, trying to hold onto her senses. Naruto's body was growing cold, and she did not want to lose him. "He-hello is…. Is someone there?"

But the echoes only answered back again like a parrot.

She felt powerless, as if her last remaining bit of strength finally dried out. There was no one to help her. She was just a body all alone. She couldn't do anything. She couldn't save him.

Blood began to seep out of his mouth like a thin snake. With her shaking, fluttering hands, she wiped blood off his mouth and held him closer to her chest. Her efforts were fruitless, and the truth was inevitable – Naruto wasn't going to be saved.

"Naruto, please, please don't die!!!" Sakura cried in her last desperate attempt to save him. But it was all too useless. All their dreams and hopes were crashing down and slowly disintegrating. And just like those dreams, Naruto's body was suddenly growing transparent.

"No," she said quietly, seeing her own hands through his body. "No, no, no!!!"

He then became tiny sparkling specks of dust fluttering away from her grasp. Sakura tried to hold onto even the tiniest of those dusts, but they fled from her faster than the speed of lighting. Sakura wrapped her arms around her shoulder, wanting to feel his body at least near her, even close to her. But he was gone for sure, and that truth settled into her mind quietly. Still, her thoughts swam about with the words ringing, "He's dead, he's gone," in her mind like a gong. She knelt down and let her face drop all the way down to the dirt path. Slowly, she cringed, and her hands reached toward her heart. She grasped it with all her might.

"Ahh…," she cried, and then her painful scream grew louder. "Ahhhh!!!!"

Sakura breathed in heavily. She couldn't control herself anymore and allowed the emotions to sweep over her body. The pain, she hated it. She hated the deserted plain, the mist, the loneliness. She began to let her tears drop to the ground.

"Poor, dear girl, did you honestly think that you could save him?" she heard a voice say. It was a calm, smooth voice, nevertheless, cold and jilting.

"Who… who's there?" Sakura said, raising her body reluctantly. The dark figure was shrouded in the heavy mist.

"Follow me, and your death will not be in vain. Give me your pathetic life, and I will end it quick and painless," the voice from the figure told her.

"Shut up!" Sakura shouted as she threw the kunai knife that was in her half torn pocket. But the figure seemed undaunted, and glided carefully over to her. She still could not see what or who it was, but she held her guard and reached into her pocket, trying to find anything sharp to protect herself against this stranger….

_Ring, ring! Ring, ring! _

The sharp sound of the bell snapped her back to reality. Sakura was back in her bed, bathed in the warm morning light. Another day had come.

She started her daily routine as usual. First, she took a quick shower, followed by putting on her casual ninja outfit. She brushed her long, wavy hair and tied it up into a bun, and wrapped her forehead protector on her head like a headband. The dream, however, never escaped out of her mind until breakfast time.

She had that same dream over and over again for at least three weeks now. It was so repetitive that even now, she could recite the events off by heart. She had even drawn the scenarios and made one painting on a small canvas that she had secretly bought off a flea market. Luckily, her father was interested in art before he left the world of the living, and she found stacks of paint brushes and watercolor stashed away in her mother's closet.

Often, she drew herself losing the sparkling dust that used to be in the form of a human body. On the canvas, she tried to draw the dying boy's body lying on the blood drenched ground that had not received one ounce of rain for perhaps many years. But no matter what, whenever she tried to think of how his face looked, she could not paint it. She couldn't remember him altogether.

'It's Naruto,' she reassured herself, and tried again by pointing the brush toward the empty space that would be the boy's face. Still, there was a pause, and she dropped the brush down on the easel.

It wasn't because she was an amateur in the fields of art. Of course, she was still a little unskilled in so many areas, but ever since she was at least seven, her father would place her on his lap and taught her how to paint and how to capture the lights. The lights were very important –depending on the variations and the angling- as it could either destroy or capture life into the painting.

Sakura wasn't quite talented in painting or drawing, but took an earnest interest in it, especially after her father's death.

She closed her eyes to recapture the moment, where the warm glow of light sneaked in to catch a glimpse of the moment of happiness between a father and his daughter. It was a tiny space, cluttered with books and all sorts of strange objects from foreign lands. Her father held a fine-tipped brush in one hand, and had her on his lap.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" she asked him, and he drew that gentle smile upon his lips. His mysterious aura often calmed her, unlike her mother, who had the 'spirit of a strong peppermint' as she would put it.

"It's a secret," he mused as he made careful strokes onto the smooth canvas. Like magic, colors shrouded the blankness, and beauty reigned over in Sakura's eyes.

For some reason, her father liked to make close observations on the eyes and spent much time on it. Whenever she asked why, her father would simply say, "Because it is a gateway to us, our spirit."

And after that was said, no matter how closely she observed his eyes, she never understood her very own father's spirit.

* * *

"What do you guys think is going on with Sakura?" said Ino while she climbed up the stairs of the Hokage Monument with Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru.

"Beats me," Shikamaru replied with a yawn. "Why the heck is the old lady calling us anyways right now? I'm already busy enough with all those stacked files she gave me."

"Perhaps we will be receiving another mission," Neji replied firmly.

"Hey, hey, come on, I said something first," Ino blurted out as she blocked the way on the middle of the stairway. "Seriously, Sakura's been bugging me out."

"If she has wonderful collection of bugs with her, then please call her over to me," said Shino. Ino smacked herself on the forehead and sighed with Shikamaru.

"What? No, not like that! Geez, you're lamer than I thought," Ino shouted as she took a step up the stairs. Soon, the others followed her automatically.

"You must remember to encourage your team mates rather than using put downs," Shino replied in a monotonic voice. "Otherwise, the team would not function as a whole."

Everyone abruptly stopped and stared at Shino with a bland look.

"You know what, forget that I even talked about this," Ino said. "But I'm really worried about her. She's always busy. She always seems to space out like a stupid ditz more than a brainy geek she really is."

"Geez and I thought girls opened up to each other a lot," Shikamaru said while resting his hands onto the back of his head. "What's up with that?"

"She just can't open herself up to anyone these days, and keeping secrets from me is the worst of all to come! I'm going to find out what she's up to," Ino said as she swirled her index finger around in the air. "Right after this small talk with Tsunade-sama!"

Well, too bad for Ino because the Hokage had a different plan for her.

"Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Shino!" Tsunade roared at the four ninjas. "Today, you'll be off to the Northeast side of our country and spy on a so-called logging industry called the Matsushita Company!"

"Logging industry? What's so special about that place?" Shikamaru blurted out. Tsunade slid their mission scroll to Shikamaru, and he rolled it open. Then finally, his eyes widened a little….

* * *

For the shy Hyuga heir, Hinata spent most of her days keeping silence. Excluding the days where she was sent off to missions, Hinata tended the large Hyuga garden, picking flowers and pressing them in her books in the study room. Few months had passed ever since that fatal day when Naruto had died, and she could still remember it all clearly as if those scenes were written in her clear light violet eyes – how Naruto laid on the muddy ground, ever so still as a rock; how Sakura was crying, slumped over his chest.

And then she wondered what she could've done to save Naruto. All the reasons that she could come up with felt so stupid in her mind. She felt foolish and worthless as ever.

"I… I just need fresh air," she whispered to herself. She dropped the books containing her pressed flowers and quietly left her room.

Down the freshly waxed wooden floor, her eyes came across her sister Hanabi walking by holding few books in her arms. Hinata wanted to ignore her, but her kind nature took over and said a mere, 'good morning.'

Hanabi stared at her sister blankly and tossed in a quick, 'good morning' back to her.

Hinata smiled and began to take tiny steps away.

"It's not your fault," Hanabi said.

"Ex-excuse me?" stuttered Hinata as she turned around slightly toward the small girl.

"It's not your fault," Hanabi repeated. "It's not your fault, so stop sulking. It's bothering me, sister, and it's bothering you too."

The two girls stared at each other for the longest time, until finally, Hinata whispered, "I'm not sulking." She clutched onto her jacket, near her heart and allowed her head to drop slightly.

"There you go, sulking again," Hanabi said apathetically, and began to walk away. Watching this, Hinata sighed, closed her eyes, and let out a smile which seemed a little painful.

"Maybe," she whispered. "Maybe I'll press my Iris flowers on the yellow paper that I made last year after I come back from my walk."

* * *

Tree leaves rustled as the four ninjas whooshed by at a lightning speed. Shikamaru kept his lead as Ino, Neji, and Shino followed him behind.

"Neji, is anyone following us?" Shikamaru said. Neji shook his head while still keeping his Byakugan in check.

"I don't think it's necessary to keep caution. I mean, Shino has his bugs around, so it should be fine, right?" Ino tossed out the question that wasn't meant to be answered.

"No, this is one of those missions where you have to keep alert," Shikamaru said quickly. Frustrated by his lead and silence, Ino blurted, "Well, you never showed us what was in that scroll. Come on, Shikamaru. What's going on?"

Beads of sweat rolled down on his cheeks.

"This company shouldn't even exist on the grounds of our country," Shikamaru whispered.

* * *

The streets were not busy today as it usually was. The sun was up high in the morning sky, and Sakura was collecting food from the market.

"Sakura, would you mind if you help me out here? I'll give you a sample of fresh fish that just came today," a middle-aged man called out from the left side of the street. He was pointing toward a crater, which meant that he needed it to be smashed open.

"Sure, ojii-san," Sakura said with a smile. Reluctantly, she walked over, storing a little amount of chakra in her right fist, and then released it with a quick punch on the wooden lid.

The old man kindly handed her a bag of fresh fish inside. "Thank you dear."

"No problem," she grinned with her arms akimbo. Just then, she heard a tiny, meek voice say, "It's been a long time, Sakura-san."

She turned to her right and saw a girl with straight, silky navy blue hair with trimmed bangs. She wore a fine cotton white dress today and carried a handmade basket slung over her arm.

"Hinata," she said with a friendly smile. "Long time no see."

The two girls stood in front of the market, chatting and catching up to the current issues despite the awkwardness at first. They soon began to walk and talk like as if they were good old friends from the past, adding girlish giggles here and there. Usually Sakura had to keep motivating her to talk by simply asking random questions about her life and what she did nowadays, and it allowed Hinata to finally feel comfortable enough to shed out of her shell. Still, there was one thing that hung as taboo in their minds, and that was simply Naruto. He was just as forbidden to talk about as the ex-rule that would destroy anyone who'd reveal Naruto as the nine-tailed fox. Naturally, Hinata had no courage to discuss about him even if she wanted to. She twiddled her index fingers around while Sakura complained about all the work that she had to do, though she would never reveal her family situation and engagement.

"But anyways, at least I'll be fine," Sakura said reluctantly.

"Hm? Oh, yes," Hinata's voice began to fade again, and Sakura half-smiled.

"Is something bothering you, Hinata?"

"Oh no," she lied, letting those haunting memories flash in her mind like choppy movie clips. Sakura was crying so badly, so broken heartedly, while Naruto had his eyes closed… so cold… ever so still on the ground….

Sakura stared at Hinata with one bottom half of her eye slightly twitching upwards. She couldn't stand this awkwardness, no matter how many times she tried to get rid of it. Hinata, compared to her airy and light appearance, held something dark and dreary in her heart. Before Sakura could reach over and try to say something encouraging to Hinata, the two girls heard a bark.

"Toru?" Sakura said as she turned around. From the distance, they saw a tiny sparkling dot dashing toward them with tremendous speed. That dot grew larger into a furball, and finally into a fox who jumped into its owner's arms.

"Toru, I told you to stay at home today with mom! Geez, you never listen, you idiot," she began to nag at the little creature, and it stared at her back with its large, cerulean eyes reflecting her image back. She never stayed mad at him long though. Often she ended her rants with a tiny tap on his head and a warm embrace.

"You're so cute! That's why I forgive you, okay?"

Hinata stared at them, the loving owner and its lovable companion, with intense curiosity. Mostly she kept her eyes on the odd baby fox with golden fur and blue eyes. Where could have that fox came from, and why did Sakura, of all people, have it?

Sakura finally noticed the other girl's intensely watchful, light violet eyes and turned back to her while keeping the baby fox in her arms. "Oh, um, Hinata, this is Toru. I found him one day while coming back home. Isn't he adorable?" She held him out to the curious girl, giving her a chance to hold the dear pet.

Hinata was startled, not knowing what to do. Eventually, she took the small creature in her arms and immensely studied the fox's eyes. He watched her back with all of its attention and wonder. His presence, his eyes… they all felt too familiar. Those tiny memories about him that she had treasured in her heart had suddenly unlocked themselves, echoing through her mind continuously.

'Na-Naruto-kun?!' she thought, her lips parting slightly in shock.

"Hinata, what's the matter? Hinata?" Sakura's brows narrowed down, and soon, Toru jumped back into her arms – his safe haven.

Hinata shook herself out of daze and smiled nervously. "Ah, it's nothing…nothing, Sakura-san. I better be off home now. I'll see you soon…a-and Toru-ku-I mean, Toru-chan too!" And with that, she dashed off into the other direction, leaving Sakura and Toru standing in silence.

* * *

"Ehh?! Shikamaru, you don't mean to say…"

"That's right, and we're almost there, so keep it quiet everyone!"

They all agreed and watched the large conglomerate empire from afar in the forest on the edges of the cliff.

* * *

The sun was about to set, and the sky was a profusion of light pink, orange, and violet quietly settled all around the village. Sakura came back home, having tons of endless paper bags draped around her arms. It seemed that she was stuck doing all her mother's dirty chores and shopping nowadays to no end. She dragged her tired body home while Toru trotted along behind her happily. She pushed the front gate with her body, and her mother came running out from the front door, grabbing those heavy bags away.

"Sakura, dear, welcome home! You've been gone for quite a while," her mother said with a sweet smile.

'Yeah, yeah… don't you just love taking advantage of me when I volunteer to do most of the family work now,' Sakura bitterly thought as she dumped all the goods down on the wooden floor. She knocked the slippers off her feet and Toru soon followed her.

"Oh and Sakura," her mother said, and Sakura sighed, hoping that it wasn't any last-minute errands.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"These two letters came in today from the mail box. They're for you," her mother handed the envelopes in her hands. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay," she answered, and climbed upstairs while letting Toru go first in her room.

"I wonder who it could be from, Toru?" she said while closing her room door and opening her bedroom window wide open. She tore top tip ends of one of the envelopes. The first one was from Matsushita-kun.

_"Dear Sakura-san,_

_I hope you haven't forgotten me. It feels like too many hours have drifted by between us. Time never seems to be bountiful, yes? Sakura-san, I still haven't forgotten your beautiful smile. It's been only a week after since our encounter, and I still can hardly wait to see you._

_I wish to apologize, for I must leave Konoha and return back to my company. I have been informed that there has been a little mishap between co-workers, and I intend to fulfill my duties as a sworn servant to the workers. I wanted to stay longer, but I will be back for you soon. Till then, I wish you all the best. I give you my happiness, my heart._

_Sincerely,_

_Matsushita Junpei."_

The letter was formal and yet still felt so sweet in her heart. It was good to know that at least someone did care for her. Someone could give her a small surprising sample of happiness in just an ordinary paper. She placed the paper aside, tore open the other remaining envelope's end, and began to read. It was a short letter, but it still made the ends of her hair stand.

_"Haruno Sakura,_

_You are in danger. Be very aware of your surroundings. Be cautious of your future and anyone who you interact with. Again, beware, for your actions or oppositions may bring an end to the very existence of your life, or possibly, Konoha's."_

She flipped the paper from front to back to see if there was a name signed on it. Still, there was nothing. It was a very neat handwriting, though she couldn't recognize who it was from. It was someone perhaps who she didn't know too well. For a second, she proceeded to tear the letter in half, but stopped on the midway through, and kept the letter at the very bottom drawer of her desk while keeping Matsushita's at the top.

Worried about her look on her face, Toru jumped off the bed and tapped her ankles with his paws. He yapped twice to get her attention. Slowly, Sakura stared at Toru and lifted him up.

"Yeah, you're right," she said, holding him while turning her attention to the window to see the sun vanish finally in the distance, allowing the darkness to calmly settle in.

"There's nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing."

For once, her life seemed to turn out okay in peace, before the night crept in to make its visit.

* * *

A/N: A little bit of a boring chapter, but at least the story's setting in. Who could have sent Sakura that note? There's only one person who could do that...

-sigh- I'll be probably updating less frequently now. Hopefully I'll get back to this story soon!!!


	5. Company

**Note: **My boyfriend wrote something on the wheat fields, so I thought it was a proposal. Turns out, it said, "You do not own Naruto, ever." True that... -grumble-

* * *

**Chapter V**

**Company**

_"Difficulties exist to be surmounted."_

_~ Ralph Waldo Emerson_

* * *

So many hours already passed by. It was very dark, with few stars twinkling above in the heavens while small animals of the forest crept around their surroundings. Neji kept his Byakugan still in check, while Shino's almost invisible bugs restlessly flew around the massive fortress that was called the Matsushita Company. They were restless, nonstop, and although they felt the heaviness on their eyelids, it was better than being back in the days of the Chunin exams.

"Ugh, I'm so tired," Ino finally said as she stretched her arms out. Shikamaru quickly folded them down and put his index finger to his lips.

"Shh," he reminded her. "The speculation will be done soon, so be very quiet."

"But come on Shikamaru, we've been like this for hours now," she whispered back to him with a slight pout. "And there has been nothing going on."

"She's right," Neji answered. "There haven't been any strange occurrences or mishaps in that company. In fact, it's been proceeding in normal status, just like any logging industry should."

Shikamaru crossed his arms and kept his eyes closed to think. "Still… why would a company be on the grounds of our Fire Country when it hasn't been given any permission to do so?"

A small bug came back and landed on Shino's fingers. It sent him its body signals and fluttered its tiny wings around. "My bug says that it senses abnormal chakra flow in that company," he said.

Ino's ears perked. "Chakra? But it's a company that cuts down trees and stuff. Why would it have chakra there?"

"Let's find out," Shikamaru brought out the ropes and one kunai out in the opening. "Everyone ready?"

They all nodded as they brought out their own weapons out as well and jumped out of the forest in one swift movement.

* * *

Back in the Hyuga household, a teenage girl was brushing her long, silky hair delicately. At one stroke, she stopped and put down her comb while staring at the garden through her open window. That name of the fox never seemed to escape out of her mind.

'Naruto-kun… Toru-chan….,' she thought while leaning her elbows against the wooden window frame.

* * *

"Hiya!" Ino yelled as she kicked the daylights out of the poor, defenseless worker.

"Hey Ino, would you mind not making such a ruckus?" Shikamaru sweat dropped while putting on the plain, grey jumpsuit that he stole from the worker he just knocked out. Ino said a mere, _"Hai,"_ and started to take off the jumpsuit off of the poor man now seeing birds and shooting stars in his eyes.

"We have no time to waste, we must hurry," Shino said as he put over the hood attached on the jumpsuit and zipped his front all the way to his mouth. Everyone else followed his example.

Ino stood upright with her arms akimbo while staring at the four, nearly naked, unconscious men stripped away from their worker's dignity and pride. "I kind of feel sorry for these guys. Now, what should we do with them?" she said.

"We'll have to tie them and lock them up in that storage room over there," Shikamaru answered, and everyone nodded as they carried the bodies and wrapped the ropes around tightly. Feeling slight pity against the men, Neji hauled the tied up bodies carefully down the room and put them in a far corner so they wouldn't be able to reach the door or the stairs once they regained their consciousness. They slid the wooden bar over the metal door and proceeded to walk through the dimly lit halls. There were hundreds of doors containing unfamiliar sounds, but strangely, no voices of humans.

Ino complained while putting on her suit. "What's with these uniforms? They're so bleh, and we look like regular dorks- so unfashionable!" She looked over to her left and saw Neji wearing huge lab goggled shaded in black with its gaudy yellow elastic straps slung over his ears to hide his dojutsu. She was at least thankful for not having Byakugan as one of her assets; otherwise, wearing those nasty goggles would kill her pride of 'looking good' every day.

'Wow, I can't believe just one add of ugliness could kill a good looker. Girls of Konoha will totally cry when they see Neji like this,' Ino sweat dropped.

"Pay attention now: we'll have to split in two, or else it'll take a long time to search each room," Shikamaru lipped the words so that no one would be able to hear, and the team agreed. "Okay, so it's settled then. Ino and I are teams and we'll take the east hall. Neji and Shino will take the west. We come back on this exact spot. Shino, give me one of your bugs, just in case something happens. Now, put on your earphones so that we can communicate."

Shino quietly allowed one of his bugs to flutter over Shikamaru's left shoulder, and all of them casually walked away to their designated places.

* * *

Quietly, she crept into her slippers and pushed the heavy wooden gate door open. She waited for some time to make sure her family was asleep. Noticing that every light had vanished from each room, she sighed in relief and ran out. For the first time, she felt free and rebellious, feeling like one of those 'bad girls' in old gangster films. She giggled to her own amusement and delight, enjoying the night air and the fresh clean sky that governed over her village.

Hinata never took night walks before. She was often too nervous to gather her strength to run out the door. Today would mark the third day to do this act, and already, comfort and ease settled on her body like as if she had done this a million times and over before.

'I like this,' she thought, feeling lightness on her feet. 'I really like this. Why haven't I tried this before?'

The sounds of leaves rustling to the rhythm of the night breeze, the mysterious flutters from tree to tree… she embraced it all in this solitude she possessed. She felt like she had the whole world wrapped in her palms, until she came across the nocturnal creature she saw that day. Its bright blue eyes holding all sorts of wonder and curiosity shone through the darkness. He was having his daily midnight walk and she just happened to stumble by on his way.

"To-toru-chan," her footsteps stopped altogether as she laid her eyes upon his golden fur. The small fox just knocked its head to the side and sat on the ground. He started to scratch his ears, and when she knelt in front of him, he abruptly stood up instinctively, surprised from her sudden action. She then slowly reached his hands to his head, and he remained still, letting her fingers tickle behind his ears. He began to relax a little and sat back down again, squinting and wagging his tail in happiness.

"What a good little fox you are," Hinata smiled. "You're not like any other foxes, aren't you?"

The fox started to roll around the ground.

She sighed. "Are you Naruto-kun?"

Still, the fox remained as a fox, happily responding to her petting.

"But you remind me of him, Toru-chan," she said, her eyes growing slightly misty. "I miss Naruto-kun very much, Toru-chan. He was kind and… and always smiling. I miss that. I miss his smiles."

The small creature stopped responding and shook off her hands from its body. He yapped twice energetically and did back flips in front of her. She clapped in amusement, giggling.

"Toru-chan…," she hesitated, not knowing what to say. She was trying to find the right words, but many times, her tongue ended up deceiving her thoughts. She quickly stood up to avoid awkwardness. "I… I think I'll be going home now. But I would like to meet you again at this spot at this hour. Oh, but I wonder if you know what I'm saying, really…"

Strangely, she thought she saw the fox nod as she turned to go back to her house.

* * *

"We've arrived at a place called Point A. How are you guys holding up over there?" Shikamaru whispered over the earphone. Another voice buzzed through sooner or later.

"We are at a place called Section B. So far, there hasn't been any sign of life forms. Every room we've visited was empty with only few machines running to cut wood," Neji replied.

"Continue the procedure," Shikamaru confirmed. Ino looked over to Shikamaru with a bit of worried look.

"Ne, Shika- err, Ken," Ino corrected herself as she read the nametag attached to his suit. Shikamaru had instructed everyone to use the nametags to identify themselves in case they ran into possible emergencies earlier on. Shikamaru looked back over to Ino.

"Don't you think it's kind of strange that there aren't many people as we go deeper in this place?" she said, and he nodded as he let his eyes travel around this strange environment. The whole floor was at least about twenty feet tall, perhaps built in titanium or other mixture of strong metals. There were dim florescent lights swinging in rows, a square tile distant from each other. Room after room, metal door by door, they could only hear the sound of machines chugging and clanking, but no sign of life forms anywhere.

"Everything's the same old thing. Even Neji and Shino reported that there's nobody here except these noisy machines," Ino complained. The sound of metals clashing, wood chopping was banging on her ear drums. She put her flat hands against her ears, shouting, "Geez, how can anyone work and eat at a place like this?!"

"Ino, shh," Shikamaru placed his hands over her mouth. "But still, you're right. I can't even concentrate in this place… it's just too much."

As they ventured deeper into the hallway polluted with noise, their ears became more sensitive. _Bang, clash, crush! Bang, clack, pound!_ The hallway, he realized, was becoming larger in space and thick with noises.

It was finally then Shikamaru realized that the sounds were becoming thinner and loose in his ears.

"Damn it, it's a trap! Ino, cover your ears!" Shikamaru yelled as fast as he could, but it was already too late for her.

"What?! Speak louder, I can't hear you!!!"

"Damn it!" And just after Shikamaru said that, mass of workers, all dressed alike in grey uniforms, came out through the ceiling and surrounded them to a corner. The enemies were lined up, holding any kind of workshop tools in their hands. They were slowly marching in very slowly…

* * *

"Sir, we have intruders," a man dressed formally in black suit with sunglasses bowed respectfully to the odd, unnoticeable figure sitting behind the bamboo screen, even though there was plenty of sunlight creeping through the paper shielded windows.

The figure sent him a hand signal, and once again, the black suited man bowed. "I understand," he said, and left.

* * *

Shikamaru and Ino were both backed up to a tiny corner. They both felt the cold metal walls sending chills up their spines and cooling sweats off their backs. Ino was calm with the sound of marching and engines disclosed from her ears, but Shikamaru had a hard time trying to concentrate. Still, they both tried to support each other the best they could by flashing the kunai knives and shurikens in their hands to ward off the enemies.

"Hey, you guys, can you hear me? We're surrounded here! Speak up!" Shikamaru yelled through the earphone. There was an answer, though the feedback was louder than before.

"Enemies have cornered us-we're trapped too," Neji said. There was a little bit of panic in his voice. "Tch," Shikamaru gritted his teeth while stepping up slightly forward to protect Ino, deaf and somewhat confused.

The uniformed men were gathering closer but suddenly stopped by a sound of whistle. They all halted in unison. In the distance, there was a small figure approaching the trapped duos. The enemies started to part away evenly in half as the figure drew in closer, like Moses had divided the Red Sea. Shikamaru stood in guard, while the unknown person shed away from the shadows and into the dim light to present its appearance – first the feet with its flawless black leather shoes, to the red necktie and black suit, and finally, the face.

"Ah, so we have company," the man spoke with his depreciating, straightforward voice that vibrated through the solid metal walls. "What brings you two here to our lovely yard?"

"We just fell in," Shikamaru nonchalantly said with a grin. Ino couldn't hear, but was able to read their lips, memorize most of the component of their conversation like a record. She examined the odd fellow that stood before them with her turquoise eyes. He was quite short – perhaps no more than five feet tall- with almost balding head, save a few stringy dark grey spikes at the sides. His buckish, chiseled jaws and bottom teeth brashly protruded out to the front along with his pot belly, and even the dark sunglasses he wore couldn't quite shield the coal black eyes glazing through to his only frightened guests. Still, despite his short stature, he stood strictly ridged with his chest puffed out, making him seem big-boned and strong.

"What sort of business do you have with me?" the man grinned, showing his ghastly white choppers all lined up in neat rows. "I have nothing to hold against you young folks. If you're here for an interview, then go back. I don't associate with an unknown press."

"Smart guy, aren't you? Might I guess that you are the chairman of this corporation?" Shikamaru asked with an amused look while still keeping his protective stance.

"I suppose I am," the man in suit said while fixing his collar confidently. "How do you like that? Have you expected someone different?"

"Heh, you're all talk," Shikamaru told him coolly. "We should be the ones to kick your sorry hides out of this country. Get the hell out of our way or we'll shred you to pieces. We have back ups if you try to do anything funny."

The man smirked. Ino noticed that he always kept his hands in his coat pocket while keeping up on the conversation. "Oh and what will you do? I have hundreds, no, thousands of men waiting for their death days just to serve me. They will even torture themselves to death… and why is that? They honor me, worship me, bow down to me, and will even lick the soles of my shoes to serve me! I am Matsushita Junpei, the most powerful industrialist in the world, and nothing can stop me, not even you lousy spies from who knows where."

He started to chuckle. At first, it was very low, cold even. But then, his chuckle grew louder, and even more spiteful than before as each seconds ticked by.

"Of course," Shikamaru cut in. "We may be just lousy spies from who knows where, but at least we know when to stop!" And with that, he threw a smoke bomb.

They coughed until the smoke vanished. When their surroundings became clear, the cornered spies were gone.

* * *

"What happened to you two?" Shikamaru asked Neji and Shino, whose dead serious expressions were darker than before. Ino was taking off the heavy uniform, revealing her ordinary purple tank top and aprons with tights.

"We were ambushed by the workers," Neji said. "Along with few other unexpected situations."

The four ninjas were gathered in a circle, back at the same cliff which they looked down at the massive empire of logging industry below. They were hiding in the bushes and were able to hear the panicked hollers of the workers at the company below.

Shino adjusted his thick goggles a little, just so no one can see his eyes. "I suppose they are searching for us. Why? They now know that there were spies infiltrating their hide out, so this place will have plenty of guards protecting near the future."

Shikamaru and Neji nodded. "Have you gathered any other news?" Shikamaru said.

"Just as we were surrounded, we met the owner of this company."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What? Who?!"

"His name was Mizuki Shiro. He was perhaps about five feet tall and wore a full set of business suit," Neji answered. Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"What?! That's impossible- Ino and I met the chairman, and his name was Matsushita Junpei!"

Neji's expressions slightly changed into a more complex look, while Shino remained same as ever. It was always difficult to tell if Shino even had expressions.

"Let me guess: his jaws stick out and wears sunglasses? He's bald too?" Shikamaru said, and Neji's eyes were quite open from shock, but then his eyebrows bent down questioningly.

"How-how is this possible- a person in two opposite sides of the building? The same person…"

"We were tricked," Shikamaru answered. "Those guys we've met aren't the owner of the company. No, there's someone else actually controlling this place, and those so-called bosses are just mere distractions, or puppets, so to speak.

"So they've both used different names, didn't they? One was Mizuki Shiro, and the other was Matusushita Junpei. As we know it, this illegal corporation is called Matsushita Company, so the latter name might have some kind of relationship with the place itself."

"Did Hokage-sama give any information about the chairman?" Neji asked, and Shikamaru shook his head. "Nada. In fact, no one knows who really owns this place, though about sixty years ago, the company was established by a guy named Matsushita Junpei." He perched the scroll that Tsunade handed to him open and pointed out the name. "Well, that guy should be pushing daisies by now, so that's out of the picture. But anyways, this company was first established in the Sound village, so it would be strange for it to suddenly move here."

"Perhaps the Daimyo gave them the permission to settle around this area, but not so close to the village because of their foreign identifications?" Neji said, but Shikamaru shook his head.

"That's what I thought too, until I found out that there were no certain documentations or any kind of suitable information granting this company to build its empire on the Land of Fire. Another thing is that there were reports of missing-nins from other countries. Most of the Kages sent out their ninjas to hunt them down, thinking that these missing-nins joined an illegal organization of some kind, but sooner or later, more went missing. Even the hunter-nins and ANBU forces."

There was a brief moment of silence until Neji whispered, "Maybe Ino could use her Shintenshin no jutsu on one of the workers to keep investigating the company…"

"That won't do," Shikamaru looked at Ino ruefully. "She can't hear us."

Ino glared at Shikamaru for giving her such looks, and shouted back hotly, "At least I may not be able to hear you guys, but I'm still able to read your lips!"

"Yeah, but just barely. Most of us can only read the simple terms though your lip reading skills exceed all of ours combined here. Anyways Ino, we can't let you go back there: one, because the company is now guarded heavily, and two, you're deaf. How can you even hear us through the ear phone, or even answer some of our questions?"

"What? I couldn't read the last part!" Ino shouted, cupping her right ear and leaning toward Shikamaru.

He whispered back sharply, "Pipe down, Ino! You're too loud!"

"What did you say?!!"

"PIPE DOWN, INO!!!" the gang shouted back at her loud and clear.

The boys heard an owl hoot…

Ino blinked at first from confusion, and then finally smiled.

"Swipe town?" she asked, and they all groaned as they smacked themselves on the forehead.

* * *

"Ne, who are you? Did I see you before somewhere?" she asked the small boy with spiky blond hair far away. The boy was smiling to her in the fields of flowers, and the sweet aroma was tickling her nose. Isn't this my dream, she thought. But the soft wind carrying the scent of flowers as it gently kissed her cheek felt too real. The air that she breathed in, the pure blue sky, the birds… that world itself was real. But she knew that in her heart, this world wasn't hers. It had its creator.

The boy waved to her, ran to her. "Nee-chan, will you stay here with me? I'm kind of lonely here…" He twisted his arms around and energetically pranced around the field. He was back away in the distance. "Nee-chan, come on!"

'Should I really keep his company, or just go?' she thought. But the boy was beckoning to her, waving his hands impatiently.

"Nee-chan! Nee-chan!"

"Alright, alright, stop being so annoying already! I'll come, but watch out- I'm faster than you!" she yelled and ran to him. Strange enough, no matter how much she ran or tried, the boy seemed to run faster than her.

"Nee-chan's slow…" he teased.

"Grr, shut up!!!" she yelled. She pressed in a small amount of chakra in her right hand and punched the ground. Parts of land were flying in the air along with the boy, and she finally caught him by his white tee.

"I caught you, brat," she grinned while tugging the boy's shirt like as if he was a yo-yo. The boy pressed his lips tightly and yelled, "Well, you didn't win yet! I want a rematch you cheater!"

"Ha ha ha, what a cute little guy…"

"Ugly girl!"

Sakura's sunny attitude turned 180 degrees sharp as evil aura started to fume out from her body.

"What did you say?!!!!" she gave the boy her powerful noogies.

"Owwie! Oww!!! Nee-chan, it hurts!"

"I'm going to kill you!!!!!" she yelled until she heard the knoll of her alarm clock.

She opened her eyes, and was back in her room with the sunlight peaking through the breezy, almost transparent curtains. Toru was sleeping under her bed.

Another day.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so that whole ordeal was done. Yey! But poor Ino, she's deaf. And Sakura's having frequent weird dreams... hm. Hinata still can't forget Naruto, and more trouble to come!!!


End file.
